Ethereal Prefecture
"You think you own whatever land you land on, The earth is just a dead thing you can claim. But I know every rock and tree and creature Has a life, has a spirit, has a name." :- Unknown inscription, found carved in a black stone The Ethereal Prefecture, otherwise known as the Prefecture or simply EP is a new faction for Paradox: Renaissance. Created from the dying gasps of humanity's collective elimination of magic, the Ethereal Prefecture is a bureaucratic coalition of frightened – and dangerous – magical beings struggling against both a world that no longer believes in them as well as an inner crisis about their very existence. The Ethereal Prefecture are symbolized by three streaks of light on a purple circular background, which represent the Chamber of the Moon, the Chamber of the Sun, and the Chamber of the Stars as a singular whole. At a Glance Faction Colour: Purple. Gameplay Style: Swarm Storm Preferred Theatre of Operations: Darkness Strengths: Cheap and quickly-built units, flexible specialization paths, generate more troops from enemy deaths, spreading Mania, powerful high-end Pillars. Weaknesses: Most units extremely vulnerable to physical damage and area of effect weapons, reliant on battle and field to maintain strength, no defenses or walls, Pillars are resource-intensive. Intended Players : Hive Nobility and Berserkers Background Losing the Path Throughout the ages, there had always been periods of time in which knowledge was suddenly lost, and other periods of time in which knowledge was suddenly gained. As civilizations rose and others fell, so too did new discoveries spread and other discoveries lost to war and natural destruction. What was lost may be found again in time by others, and before the advent of widespread communication it was not uncommon for several people or groups to lay claim to discovering something first at the same time. And occasionally, on a small scale, there would be a paradigm shift: the discovery of a truth so profound that it would completely change the way a society looked at themselves and their world. When these paradigm shifts happened, however, they often left residuals of their old truths behind. Such residuals lingered under the 'old ways', but they were never widespread enough, nor powerful enough to have an effect on any more than a local area. Confronted by the new truth and reality of things, they would soon dissipate and leave the rest of the world as it was – real. In the 15th century, mythology was still strong. Rumors, legends, folklore and stories abounded throughout the world, with every civilization having their own bestiary of monsters, hobgoblins, and faeries described and documented. Their reality was an utter non-question in the shape of things, but as the 15th century dragged on things began to change. The fall of Constantinople brought in ancient texts from Greece in the hands of refugees to the attention of the Europeans, and new and old ideas began to appear amongst the populace. Increased trade with Asia brought in new goods and new markets. Printing allowed books to become more prevalent, and suddenly the populace as a whole had more access to knowledge than they had before. And in 1483, noted scholar Giovanni Pico della Mirandola wrote a certain text known as the "Oration on the Dignity of Man". It was an explosion of philosophical and humanistic thought, and one that send waves throughout the metaideological belief system of the Old World. Suddenly, knowledge and the sciences in the decades to come would be flooded with new ideas, new theories and discoveries, and old ways would start to slowly disappear. And, just as a new scientific revolution started to flood across the nations of the earth, there came a backlash. One by one, the magical beings of folklore and mythology began to exist. Finding the Way The formative years of the mythological community before the creation of the Prefecture was one of fear and confusion. Though they had been borne into existence with memories and knowledge of what they were in their minds, the magical beings of the world that had been created from the cosmic backlash of a false reality had no idea where they were or even why they were. Fae courts intricately described in old lore and texts almost immediately broke down as subjects pleaded for answers and information from queens and rulers that knew no more than they did. Angelic hierarchies found themselves cut off from a higher deity that their memories told them had always been in existence. The Asura found themselves preparing for battles with foes that did not exist, and the kami emerged to find their shrines no longer calmed them as the spirits thought they once did. Mythologies of different cultures clashed in trading towns and ports, and panic and fear was rife. And under and above it all, humanity continued their own lives, ignorant and unseeing. Many soon crumbled into nonexistence in those early days, whether from being in isolated pockets of Mania that soon dried up or from conflicts with other mythological beings in futile searches for some meaning or reason to their existence. But the wisest of the creatures, those whose myths and folklore painted them as being wise or clever, were able to gather more of their people, and learn that despite their backgrounds they were only safe when with each other. Others among them noticed that when clustered, it was easier to stay stable, easier to avoid the slow pain that was obliteration against the shoals of a reality that now refused to incorporate them. In great groups they gathered, and when their combined presence grew too great and too crowded from refugees, the mythological groups set out on stolen ships or on the backs of giant sea creatures in the dark of night, seeking a place where they could shelter and find answers to why they were there. They sailed west, and they sailed east. They sailed north and south, and wherever they went they found more of their kind. Soon sailors and explorers plying the waterways of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans reported seeing great fleets of ethereal ghostly figures sailing the stars and seas, spreading rumors of the ghosts of dead ships that soon rose up and joined their originators in the search for a new home. They traveled before and alongside the exploratory ships of Christopher Columbus, forced to turn back halfway through his journey after over two months trapped in a waterlogged forest of oak and pine. The great Chinese merchant fleets were forced to stay close to home, lest they become lost in a tangle of ghost lights and slippery tentacles from the deep. The Spanish conquistadors seeking to voyage into the unknown found themselves instead haunted by lost loved ones and perceived angels of sin, and returned home to absolve themselves before they could reach their intended destinations. But while European and Asiatic powers stalled in their oceanic voyages, the unquiet forms of the unreal sailed on. Eventually, they reached a land still thick in mystery, uncharted and home to an indigenous people where the scientific revolution had not yet spread. Exiled from their myriad homelands, the mythological beings stopped and coalesced on the great unknown continent – the dark and threatening New World. Aiming for Understanding When the ghost fleets washed up on the shores of the Americas, the indigenous population of the New World was still thriving. Millions of people inhabited the great continent, and as the mythological exiles explored they came upon these people, and received a surprising reaction – acceptance. They did not deny the reality of the exiles, but accepted, implored, and feared their actions and decisions. For once in their false lives the mythological exiles were now recognized and realized, and the resulting excitement stirred something up within the masses of the beings. They took to the New World like a child finding a lost mother, and instilled their false selves into it. The forests and rivers teemed with new spirits, and the plains and pampas shook with the hoofbeats of twisted equinoids. Deserts brought relief for those cast into being upon the more arid regions of the world, while those more accustomed to the wet and moist slunk within the innards of the mighty rainforests to the south. But even as the mythological beings settled into this new world, they could feel the echoes of the old world drawing nearer. Decades passed, and men once more took to the open oceans in search of new trade routes and new avenues of wealth. Greed and desire beat out fear, and even the threats of what lay beyond could not quench their desire to see what lay beyond the horizon. Over many years, fingers and tendrils of the old reached out to the new. And even where the natives, strengthened and immunized by their contact with the unreal, beat out the intruders still more came. Some came with guns, and they were thrust upon, but others came with trade goods and were cautiously allowed within. And as the visitations and colonies of the foreigners increased, so too did their mythological children see them...and wonder. The leaders of the fleet came together, their actions now boosted by the power of belief and hope. While their subjects drank deep from the wellspring of the local mythology and folklore and started to incorporate elements of it into themselves, their rulers delved into the mysteries of why they existed as a group. They discovered the terrible secret of their origins – that they were only created in order to be destroyed, that reality had birthed them out of a paradoxical reflex and now sought to eradicate them once more from existence. And as they deliberated and shared their results, there came a growing anger against the true 'reality' from the leadership of the exiles. Why should they be made only to be unmade again? Why was their reality, their fate any less valid than that of a world that did not believe they even existed anymore? And from this anger came a decision...that they would be inactive, they would be despondent no more. If they were not to be recognized by the world, then they would make it recognize them. Through the power and leadership of the Tricameral Legislature, they would force their old homes to re-believe in them – by proof, if necessary. They would be exiles no longer. Now, they were the Ethereal Prefecture. Gameplay Mania The Ethereal Prefecture do not really exist as far as the regular world is concerned – they are made of and powered by a false reality that allows for their existence, one that is created and spread when more and more of these 'magical' beings come together and collectively agree that they are actually real. These areas are strange and often hostile places compared to inhabitants of true reality, where things don't work quite as they should and other things are not always as they appear. This is known as Mania, and enemy units in Mania are less effective due to being on even more unfamiliar ground than usual. Unfortunately for the Prefecture, being outside of Mania means having their reality slowly fade over time, and as such they are less powerful when outside of it. Lesser Beings depend on the substantiation given by Mania so much that they will steadily lose health when outside of it, eventually obliterating them in time. Fortunately, however, all Prefecture buildings and some units can spread Mania on the field. Possession When in Mania, enemy units are not only at the mercy of the strange landscape and Prefecture defenders, but also of themselves. When killed within a patch of Mania, enemy units will turn into several lesser Beings, the exact type depending on which type of unit the destroyed one was. This can turn what was previously a successful charge into a failed route, so enemy generals should prepare for Possession when assaulting Prefecture strongholds. Development The Ethereal Prefecture is the third faction being put out for Paradox: Renaissance, having a release date of 20XX. The faction will have a total of 8 buildings, 4 Pillars, and 33 units (8 Beings, 8 Revenants, 8 Phantasms, 8 Horrors, and 1 Champion). Structures Beings Champion Revenants Horrors Phantasms Pillars